Psychological Case Formulation

Question 1

purpose of case formulation

Answer 1

• provide a coherent set of potential explanations of the individuals behaviour
• based off the theory that describes & explains why the person has their problem at this time that can usefully inform intervention (Kuyken 2006)
• fundamental for ensuring an appropriate understanding of the persons difficult
• should provide theoretical framework for guiding management, care, treatment

Question 2

psychological case formulation

Answer 2

• clear report for multiple people
• about the criminals offence
• with a theory of why they committed the crime

Question 3

how is psychological case formulation tested on its quality

Answer 3

• on its effectiveness of the proposed interventions

Question 4

features of case formulations

Answer 4

• brief
• try to integrate simple & complex information
• it is a theory about offenders actions & behaviour

Question 5

how should case formulations be written

Answer 5

• without using jargon
• report should be accessible to wider audience
• e.g judge, probation officer or police

Question 6

what does the quality of a case formulation depend on

Answer 6

• how logical & coherent it is
• how well it integrates all available data
• how well it is supported by the data

Question 7

3 phases of case formulation

Answer 7

• offence analysis
• risk analysis
• application to treatment

Question 8

phase 1 - offence analysis

Answer 8

• analysis of the crime
• assessment of offender
• insight into offenders thinking
• helps propose the right intervention to facilitate a reduction in reoffending
• gives indication of the risk the offender poses

Question 9

what will a well constructed offence analysis contain

Answer 9

• analyses offenders behaviour, not just a description of what they did
• professional in depth break down of how an offence took place & why

Question 10

how does a typical offence analysis take place

Answer 10

• interview or psychometric testing
• this may be unlikely to find contingencies & antecedents of offending

Question 11

how will forensic psychologists identify contingencies in offence analysis

Answer 11

• they aim to draw conclusions from similar crimes/offenders

Question 12

what factors do forensic psychologists look for to explain why the offence take place

Answer 12

• criminogenic factors
• links that may help understand occurrence of offending behaviour
• ie. education, employment, lifestyle

Question 13

offence paralleling

Answer 13

• looking at the behaviour that relates to the offence

Question 14

what is looked at in offence paralleling

Answer 14

• internal motivations for crime
• external motivations for crime

Question 15

in offence paralleling what can help identify reasons as to why the crime was committed

Answer 15

• early experience
• dysfunctional assumption
• critical incident
• negative automatic thought
• cognitive
• behavioural
• affective
• somatic

Question 16

early experience

Answer 16

• critical comments by family members

Question 17

phase 2 - risk analysis

Answer 17

• understanding psychological underpinnings of crime
• scenario planning
• hypothesising about the nature or kind of violence/context violence may occur in

Question 18

scenario planning

Answer 18

• speculating what might happen in the future
• considering information about a persons violent history
• each scenario is a story about violence that the person might commit
• its is not a prediction

Question 19

phase 2 - hypothesising about violence / context when it may occur

Answer 19

• where someone may be violent in future
• understanding who potential victims could be
• imminence of violence
• level of harm/severity

Question 20

why is scenario planning important

Answer 20

• considers different scenarios
• e.g worst case scenarios & best case scenarios

Question 21

what psychological underpinnings looked at in phase 2

Answer 21

• cognitive
• behavioural
• psychodynamic

Question 22

phase 3 - application to treatments

Answer 22

• end goal is to establish some form of intervention for the offender based on conclusions drawn
• rehabilitation programme should reflect how the offender started, if they have mental health problems, risk of reoffending & how likely sticking to programme is
• it should be reassessed & adapted
• HCPC guidelines should create some standardisation

Question 23

why is case formulation used

Answer 23

• offenders have very complex issues
• unusual crime
• standard treatments have failed
• offender is not benefiting from current treatment due to demotivation

Question 24

when is case formulation used

Answer 24

• after they have been in custody
• waiting for conviction & have been convicted

Question 25

case formulation

Answer 25

- how you make sense of a persons problems - identify dynamic risk factors in offending behaviour

Question 26

aim of case formulations

Answer 26

- to explain a persons difficulties - by constructing an individual summary of a persons life which is used to inform intervention

Question 27

what should formulation include

Answer 27

- detailed analysis of offending behaviour - key component of risk management

Question 28

what does formulation lead to

Answer 28

- design of treatment & interventions to reduce reacting to risk factors - understanding of warning signs - identification of behaviours to monitor - informs victim safety planning & supervision requirements - allows for regular review of treatment plans & measure their success

Question 29

Hart et al 2011

Answer 29

- stated these were the basic features for all formulations : - individualised - narrative - diachronic - testable

Question 30

individualised

Answer 30

- basis of explaining cause & treatment must be based on offenders history & data

Question 31

narrative

Answer 31

qualitative data in easy to understand format

Question 32

diachronic

Answer 32

full account from past/present & predictions on future

Question 33

testable

Answer 33

- need to measure impact of cause & treatment

Question 34

what are case formulations used for

Answer 34

- formulating most effective treatment plan - help educate offender about their issues - provide a report to judge about treatability, risk assessment & likelihood of reoffending

Question 35

what can case formulations reveal

Answer 35

- vulnerabilities that could prevent release of offender back into society - e.g mental health issues, aggression, harm

Question 36

examples of HCPC guidelines which link to case formulation

Answer 36

- good communication & clear language - non-discriminatory - remains unbiased - understanding new concepts & new practices - quality of practice - regular review of formulation

Question 37

who carries out case formulations

Answer 37

- clinical & counselling psychologists - in clinical settings - forensic psychologists

Question 38

why may carrying out a case formulation be difficult for forensic psychologists

Answer 38

- they cannot observe the crimes of an offender - so they must find similar offences & draw conclusions from that - look for behaviour & issues that tend to go along with that offence - look at criminogenic state & attitudes

Question 39

Eells - 2007

Answer 39

- says psychological case formulation is a hypothesis about potential problems - that has caused & maintained an offenders behaviour - hypothesis may be drawn from different theoretical perspectives - e.g case formulation carried out from learning perspective may consider the role of learning in offender behaviour & may recommend treatments based on operant conditioning

Question 40

Ed Gein - case formulation - early experiences

Answer 40

- mother very strict & controlling, dominated Ed - Ed saw her mother as the epitomy of goodness - discouraged any of their sexual desires - scolded Ed when he tried to make friends - Ed was isolated on a farm - his father was a weak alcoholic

Question 41

Ed Gein - case formulation - dysfunctional assumption - psychodynamic

Answer 41

- psychodynamic = maternal deprivation, harsh/cold - his mother: - repressed his sexual desires - said women were 'loose' - did not let Ed see women - said sex was a sin

Question 42

Ed Gein - case formulation - dysfunctional assumption - mental illness

Answer 42

- psychotic/schizophrenic - he does not remember killing women

Question 43

Ed Gein - case formulation - social learning theory

Answer 43

- no male role model - as his father was an alcoholic who died

Question 44

what did Ed Gein do

Answer 44

- killed 12 people - was happy to be incarcerated - was a model inmate - suggesting he could be treated

Question 45

Ed Gein - case formulation - treatment

Answer 45

- psychotherapy - if released would need parole officer - would have to stay away from women - live away from grave yards

Question 46

strengths

Answer 46

- reduces recidivism for society & offenders life - objective if assessment based on test scores - holistic view of offender rather than diagnosis so more individualised - Mcknight - Whitehead

Question 47

Mcknight

Answer 47

- case formulations can predict a correct treatment / incorrect treatment for an offender

Question 48

Whithead

Answer 48

- case study approach was successful for Mr C - qualitative data gives full picture from which to draw up a formulation - has a practical & theoretical element

Question 49

Weaknesses

Answer 49

- primarily based on self report data, data gathered from clinical interviews with the offender - data can be collected & reported by multiple people - retrospective data - massively qualitative = subjective - not generalisable to other offenders - risk of simplifying complex data - only on information gathered at the time = many missed vital data that can contradict itself - hard to assess effectiveness of case formulation as it is not standardised